Falling in Love With The Written Word
I’ve not asked the question of other authors as to what point, or what event in their lives drew them to the written word, and a longing to want to express in that manner. For me, it all started with music.
One of the things I’ve always been fascinated with is how the same song can draw such varying reactions from people, and how songs speak to each of us so differently. I appreciate that uniqueness about us, yet for the life of me, I could never personally understand how anyone would not want to hear Sinatra swing to “Fly Me to the Moon,” or Nat King Cole croon to “Unforgetable.”
I remember the very first time words to a song actually connected with me; actually forced me into thought. Up until that point, music was just sound, not words.
My father joined my wife and I for Thanksgiving this year and I mentioned a memory that he’d forgotten. I was born and raised in a town near Alton, Ill., and while with my father one Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1972, we were riding along in his truck down old Milton Hill Rd. when I heard for the very first time, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Now, to this day, I’ve no idea why John Denver’s music spoke such volumes to me. I was not born in the country or raised on a farm, and had no other influences leading me in that direction. No matter, his music spoke to me then and has so into my adulthood. I guess that connection will always be somewhat of a mystery to me. However, “Country Roads,” is not the song that drew me to the written word.
The following December, for my birthday, my father bought me my first John Denver album – “John Denver’s Greatest Hits.” I remember hardly being able to wait to play the record on the small turntable I shared with my sister, and was excited to learn “Country Roads” was the first song on the “A” side. I was immediately drawn to the sound of the music and even discovered another now favorite, “Starwood in Aspen.”
When I flipped the record over to the “B” side, my view of life changed forever. The first song on that side was – at that point – a virtually unknown ballad titled “The Eagle and the Hawk.” Its running time lasted just 2:10. In that two minutes and ten seconds, for the first time, I heard and connected with the words of a song, not just its melody and arrangement.
Specifically, the last two verses prompted my fascination and eventual love affair with the written word – “…And reach for the heavens and hope for the future …And all that we can be, not what we are.”
I remember playing that song over and over again, listening and absorbing. The words were perfect, connecting with me like a punch to the face. It was as if some internal switch had flipped and my mind was awakened. As I said, John Denver’s music spoke volumes to me then, and to this day, I continue to strive for higher goals and to be better than I was yesterday.
I’d enjoy hearing your story as to how/why you fell in love with the written word.
One of the things I’ve always been fascinated with is how the same song can draw such varying reactions from people, and how songs speak to each of us so differently. I appreciate that uniqueness about us, yet for the life of me, I could never personally understand how anyone would not want to hear Sinatra swing to “Fly Me to the Moon,” or Nat King Cole croon to “Unforgetable.”
I remember the very first time words to a song actually connected with me; actually forced me into thought. Up until that point, music was just sound, not words.
My father joined my wife and I for Thanksgiving this year and I mentioned a memory that he’d forgotten. I was born and raised in a town near Alton, Ill., and while with my father one Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1972, we were riding along in his truck down old Milton Hill Rd. when I heard for the very first time, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Now, to this day, I’ve no idea why John Denver’s music spoke such volumes to me. I was not born in the country or raised on a farm, and had no other influences leading me in that direction. No matter, his music spoke to me then and has so into my adulthood. I guess that connection will always be somewhat of a mystery to me. However, “Country Roads,” is not the song that drew me to the written word.
The following December, for my birthday, my father bought me my first John Denver album – “John Denver’s Greatest Hits.” I remember hardly being able to wait to play the record on the small turntable I shared with my sister, and was excited to learn “Country Roads” was the first song on the “A” side. I was immediately drawn to the sound of the music and even discovered another now favorite, “Starwood in Aspen.”
When I flipped the record over to the “B” side, my view of life changed forever. The first song on that side was – at that point – a virtually unknown ballad titled “The Eagle and the Hawk.” Its running time lasted just 2:10. In that two minutes and ten seconds, for the first time, I heard and connected with the words of a song, not just its melody and arrangement.
Specifically, the last two verses prompted my fascination and eventual love affair with the written word – “…And reach for the heavens and hope for the future …And all that we can be, not what we are.”
I remember playing that song over and over again, listening and absorbing. The words were perfect, connecting with me like a punch to the face. It was as if some internal switch had flipped and my mind was awakened. As I said, John Denver’s music spoke volumes to me then, and to this day, I continue to strive for higher goals and to be better than I was yesterday.
I’d enjoy hearing your story as to how/why you fell in love with the written word.
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